Help with setting up Drum Machine

[jpoprock]

Hey guys. My buddy and I each own an SR-16 drum machine and we both collaborate back and forth via the net. But we're both pretty new to Midi, and pretty new to our PT systems. I have the 001, and he as the AM card.

He's figured out how to get PT to record midi notes from his DM, and he emailed me the session. I'm having some weird issues playing the midi track he's sent me.

What we want/hope to be able to do is to get PT to control our DM's, but sending the "notes" to our DM's and having our DM's play those notes. That way we can tweak the sounds and patterns before actually printing the drum track to HD as audio files.

As it stands now, his midi track will tell my DM to play, and at what tempo, but my drum machine isn't playing any of HIS notes! My drum machine is playing whatever pattern I have it set on, but at the tempo PT is telling it to play.

So, PT is controlling my DM, but only for playback it seems.

Because we're both "newbies" and pretty midi stupid, we're both wondering just how we can do this? We know it's possible to record our "drum tracks" as midi tracks, so we can edit the material rather easily, but just how do we get PT to play the notes from our drum machines? We'll have the sound routed to aux tracks so we can hear what's going on. But are we on the right track here?? I'm just begging for some guidance here! Thanks!

Jason

[Kev]

I tend to use my drum machines just as sound modules these days. That is to say the drum paterns are written in PT and I send this to any of the modules. Most of the Drum sections of the modules have the same drum mapping.
I find this the simplest approach.

[accession]

Hi Jason,

In your Pro Tools session, can you see his MIDI track(s) with note information along it? You may have to select 'regions' or 'notes' in the Track View drop-down menu to see the notes.

Is the MIDI track given a MIDI channel output (number from 1-16)?

Is your drum machine set to recieve on the same MIDI Channel?

Is MIDI Beat Clock switched off in Pro Tools (in the MIDI menu)? You don't want this to automatically start your drum machine's own sequencer and trigger its sounds while you're trying to play them from Pro Tools.

Let me know if you get it up and running.

Phil

[bluesriff]

I am also trying to set up a drum machine to my digi 001. I just bought a Boss DR 670 and am unable to get audio. I shows up on the midi track being recorded but I can't hear it through my system. I can hear it through headphones on the drum machine. Any thoughts anyone?

[accession]

Originally posted by bluesriff:
I am also trying to set up a drum machine to my digi 001. I just bought a Boss DR 670 and am unable to get audio. I shows up on the midi track being recorded but I can't hear it through my system. I can hear it through headphones on the drum machine. Any thoughts anyone?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hi Bluesriff,

MIDI isn't audio, rather instructions to tell a synth what to play, like the sheet music used by an orchestra.

- Connect your DR670's audio outputs to a pair of audio inputs on your Digi001.

- Add an Aux Track in Pro Tools.

- Set the Aux Track's input to match the inputs you used on your Digi001.

- Set the Aux Track's output to match the same outputs you're using to monitor the rest of your Pro Tools audio.

- Turn the Aux Track's channel fader up.

Voila!

Phil